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Regional Round-up

March 2018

I have spent the last few months amending templates and looking at our processes to ensure we remain up to date with current or planned legislation. We are continuing to monitor licensing schemes that are getting renewed or extended, and one other area of focus, in particular, is the upcoming changes to EPC legislation.

From 1 April 2018 you will not be able to let a property on a new tenancy or renew an existing tenancy on a fixed term if the rental property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating is F or G. This is because minimum ratings have been introduced for all domestic rental properties under the Energy Act 2011.

If the EPC certificate is more than five years old, experts recommend having a new one carried out, as the methods previously used to calculate the ratings have changed. In addition, the landlord may have upgraded the property which in turn would have improved its energy efficiency. If a new EPC has been completed but still shows a rating of F or G, then the landlord is going to have to make improvements. Propertymark industry supplier, Eco-Energi, can advise on this process.

If you haven’t started doing an audit of the properties under your management for their EPC rating, then I would recommend you start doing this as soon as possible. Finally, don’t forget that you should start examining existing certificates to ensure they are still valid, particularly when arranging new lets or renewals.

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